Winemaker’s Notes:
Verdelho is a white grape variety which originated in Sicily and introduced to the Madeira Islands in the Fifteenth Century. It later expanded into the Douro Valley of northern Portugal and then to the Anjou region in the Loire Valley of western France. Verdelho is the dominant white grape of Portuguese famous wines known as Madeira.
The characteristics of Verdelho wines vary according to the climate, growing conditions, and the wine-maker’s art. The wine is usually aromatic with high acidity. Its palate can be rich, herbaceous, spicy and nutty with tropical fruit flavors.
This Verdelho was made from grapes that came from a small vineyard in Lodi which is meticulously farmed. We pressed the whole clusters and fermented the juice at a very cold temperature of around 55 degrees F that slowed down the fermentation to about 5 weeks. This wine has not undergone malolactic fermentation to preserve the natural crispness.
This Verdelho, which reminds me of a white Rhone wine, is crisp, dry and clean with very floral and tropical flavors of pineapple, guava, green mango and hints of lime. It has a substantives mouth-feel which carries all the way to the finish adding some herbal notes. This wine can be enjoyed solo or as an accompaniment to light fare food.
Varietal Content: 100% -- Verdelho, Lodi, California
Bottling Date: March 15, 2012
Cases Produced: 246
Alcohol: 13.9
pH: 3.3
Residual sugar: 0.2%
